City of Athens – A Portrait of a Changing Metropolis

CITY OF ATHENS is a non-narrative short film, a portrait of a changing Metropolis from filmmaker and award winning photographer Alexandros Maragos. The film is a homage to the capital of Greece. It features hyperlapse, timelapse and drivelapse cinematography of the urban area, the skyline and the architecture of “το κλεινόν άστυ” / the glorious city. Shot almost entirely from the highest rooftops, hills and mountains at night, the film explores the urban core, the city center and beyond.

CITY OF ATHENS was shot over a period of 90 days almost entirely from rooftops around Athens.One of them was the rooftop of the General Police Directorate of Attica.

How did you initially decide to record and take photographs of Athens and how long did it take to you?
Alexandros Maragos – The City of Athens is a personal project. I wanted to do something for the city for several years, and in the end of 2017 I got in the process.
The photography lasted for 90 days and the film was shot from the highest points of the city of Athens.

What did you want to show through the City of Athens?
A. M. – Its aim is to present the “το κλεινόν άστυ” / glorious city through its architecture and to highlight urban landscapes, focusing on its reference points. It is a portrait of a metropolis that is constantly getting improved.

This was the first time that a shooting permit was granted by the Greek Police to use the rooftop of its headquarters.

The short film was made out of 60,000 raw images in 5K resolution and it was shot on the Canon 5D Mark III with Canon L-Series Lenses mostly at 200mm and 400mm. Editing and grading was done in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. The film was finished for the web at 1920×870, 2.20:1 aspect ratio and it is available in 5K resolution. Music is by Tony Anderson.

CITY OF ATHENS was directed, produced, shot and edited by Alexandros Maragos, an Athens based Filmmaker and Photographer known for his diverse and dynamic visual style. In addition to having been featured by important international organizations and publications including NASA and National Geographic, Alex’s photography and timelapse imagery has been used by various brands across the world.